Chapter 7

Arrival of the Unknown Element Part 2

Disclaimer: I don't own this series or any other series. I am just floating an idea. I am making no money, nor plan to, off this venture. If you think of suing me over this, then grow up.

I would like to first personally thank all of those reviewing my stories. I enjoy reading your comments, and try to correct the grammatical errors I miss with my final read-through as well as my spell checkers. The suggestions you all make will help make this story better for everyone to enjoy, as well as allow my to fix some plot holes I may unintentionally leave. If you find any, let me know, and I will correct them and repost the chapters.

I find that if I let thinks sit for a while in my head; I can play them out farther. Plus by trying and keeping my chapters between 2500 and 3000+ words, it helps keep me from making the story slide out of control, turning a diamond to a pile of shit.

Please feel free to review, and make comments. If you find a spelling or wordage mistake, feel free to let me know. Thank you.

Also, please check out my other stories. I try to keep a constant level of dedication to all of them.

Ranma's attacks:

Due to his doubly cursed nature, Ranma is unable to utilize such chi based moves as the Möko Takabisha. Instead, Cologne has taught him to utilize pure ki attacks. There are as follows:

HEAVEN'S LIGHT CANNON: a continuous shot of pure positive ki.

HEAVEN'S LIGHT CHARGE: a quick shot of positive ki.

HELL'S FURY CANNON: a continuous shot of negative ki.

HELL'S FURY CHARGE: a quick shot of negative ki.

BIPOLAR SHOT: a quick shot combining positive and negative ki, each generated by a different hand.

BIPOLAR CANNON: a continuous shot combining positive and negative ki, each generated by a different hand.

This is due to both the dual nature of Ranma's Jusenkyo curses as well as the personality of Ranko disrupting his ability to try and channel emotion based chi attacks. However, such moves as the Hiryü Shöten Ha and the Kachü Tenshin Amaguriken work as they require ki to enhance as well as perform; pure ki to enhance the speed as well as the conflict between hot and cold ki. The next chapter will go into more detail about this subject.

Dreamscape: a false world created by Ranma in his mind with the help of Cologne. Its purpose is to both provide a training ground for Ranma where time is not an option (weeks of dreaming can be fit into a single night's sleep), as well as a place for Ranko to exist without being alone or locked away in Ranma's mind. Though he may perfect training methods in the dreamscape, he will only acquire the ki aspects of them. He will need to practice in reality to gain the physical aspects of this training. As a result, dreamscape training in the Bakusai Tenketsu will only help Ranma see the breaking points, but will not help him earn the toughness also acquired with the training for this technique.

Hotaru - 43

Setsuna - 38

Nabiki - 19

Kasumi - 18

Ami - 9

Minako - 8

Makato - 6

Rei - 4

Chibi-Usa - 2

All Senshi - 3

All Available Women - 3

Love Triangle - 13

Okay, the situation with the girls has just gotten worse for Ranma.

But more importantly, something has happened to the author. A no-longer pre-teen Chibi-Usa has come back, and is holding the author hostage at knife-point.

"Let Innortal go, Usa. What you're doing ain't right."

"Stuff it, Mom. I want Ranma!"

Innortal is trying to stay calm, but a crazed girl holding a knife to your throat isn't something you experience every day. "But you're too young."

"I'm as old as Hotaru and everyone is voting for her."

"But in the anime, you barely come up to Usagi's thigh. In this story, Hotaru is fifteen. Besides, I aged everyone."

"And you couldn't age me?"

"She has a point."

Innortal stared at the girl who said that. "Shut up, Luna."

"WAH! My granddaughter is going to kill someone."

"Now look what you did. You woke up Serenity. So help us, if she wakes up Nodoka—"

"WAH! MY SON IS SO MANLY!"

"Oh…great!"

Innortal lets out a held breath. "Great, just great. Fine, I'll add you to the list; you'll be the same age as Hotaru. Happy?"

"WAH! MY DAUGHTER IS SO DESPERATE FOR MEN; SHE'S COMING BACK TO THE PAST TO GET THEM!"

Okay, the author will be busy for a while trying to decide if he wants to risk Usa's wrath and finish the story, or just get himself killed so he doesn't have to deal with the "We want grandchildren" women, or other apparently violent girls who want Ranma. All he can do is hold up a sign, "PLEASE VOTE SOON!"

Ah, the life of a fan fiction writer is fraught with peril.

But he flips the sign. "RANMA, SO HELP ME. SAVE ME OR I'LL PAIR YOU WITH RYOGA."

"Aiyah! Too too stupid author no take Shampoo's Airen. You die!"

"Ah, stop her!"

"He was joking, Shampoo."

"WAH! NOW WE'LL NEVER HAVE ANY GRANDCHILDREN!"

"Well, this is…interesting."

Shampoo was in the kitchen, preparing a meal for her husband, as well as the family who was hosting them. While most Amazon women would frown on such actions, she had become more accepting of an equal relationship with Ryoga, and as such, thought she would surprise her friend Ranma with a meal that would blow his mind.

Said friend was currently in the backyard, running through an easy kata with Kasumi. It was only because Shampoo had offered to cook that Ranma had been able to get her out from the kitchen. He had to admit that the woman still knew her stuff, only making minor corrections in her form.

This did not go unnoticed by Akane who was currently in the dojo with Ryoga, going over some meditations. "I can't believe him. He won't help me, but he'll help Kasumi."

Ryoga opened his eyes. "That's because she can control her emotions. A person who can wield ki properly and not have control over themselves is as dangerous as any weapon on Earth."

Akane just stared at him. "I am in control!"

"No you aren't." Ryoga's calm manner was a new thing to him, almost unthinkable before he met Ranma, even when Ranma revealed his own weakness to Ryoga, since the lost boy was always upset that his curse made him weak. "You need perfect emotional control to access ki. You are full of anger, so you can only access anger chi. If you keep that up, soon all you will feel is anger, rage. And then, you will take a life with no afterthought. You will kill simply because you see an insult, not because one exists. Do you wish that to happen, simply because you can't admit you have a problem? Is your pride worth an innocent life?"

Akane looked away from both her source of anger and Ryoga. She didn't want to admit she had a problem to anyone, let alone herself. But if what Ryoga said was true… "I would…kill?"

"Anyone who got in your way. It wouldn't matter who they were. That is why you need to do these exercises. First, they tend to degrade the chi pathways that draw on a single emotion. Then, we will work on expanding your reserves to work with pure emotionless ki, followed by the great ki attacks."

Akane looked at him. "You mean I can project that stuff like off those anime shows?"

Ryoga smiled, placing his hands in front of him and summoning a dark ball of ki. "This is called Hell's Ki, because it is black. If you can hold it for five minutes, you can project a single blast of it. Hold it for an hour, and you can project a continuous wave of it. This was easier for me since I tended to draw on my negative side a lot before Ranma helped me. After I master this, I plan to work on Heaven's Ki to the same effect, and maybe, if I can manage, try combining the two into the Bipolar Ki. But if you try that without being prepared, you will kill yourself, and just about anything within a five block radius."

Akane could only stare at the power Ryoga was holding, not noticing the beads of sweat coming down his face. "I could do that?"

The ball disappeared. "Yeah, but it takes a lot of self control. I don't have the dreamscape down yet, so Ranma is way ahead of me in mastering pure ki. But once I get it down, I'll be sure to catch up with him, especially if I can sync up with Shampoo."

"Huh?"

Ryoga smiled, happy to be the teacher for once and not the student. "The dreamscape is a state of mind where you can practice ki techniques in your mind while you sleep. You can fit years of training into single night's rest. After you master it, you'll be able to find another person with the dreamscape ability and sync with them, meaning you both exist in the same dreamscape. It's great for training!" Ryoga himself remembered the short time Ranma had synced with him, allowing him to meet Ranko and watch the two practice.

Ranko had seemed upset that he was apparently taken, though he had only been infatuated with Shampoo at the time, not married to her.

Akane smiled. Surely someone as good as her could get this down quicker than some…boy. But that meant she would have to master these meditation techniques. That would require her to admit she has a problem, which she doesn't.

Ah, self-denial. What a wonderful thing.

"Okay, so maybe I might need your help. How soon could I master this stuff?"

Ryoga thought. "It took Ranma a few hours to master the dreamscape, so I guess we can work on that first after you get these meditations down. If we can sync, Shampoo could help us with the rest. But we can't do any of that with so much strength left in your anger chi pathways. You may be weaker when we finish mastering the meditations, but trust me, you'll feel a whole hell of a lot better."

Normally, Akane would hate the fact that she needed to lose strength to get stronger, it just didn't seem normal. But the power being offered, how could she resist? In her mind, she could just see the expression on those perverts' faces when she blasted them. Surely someone like her wouldn't even need the night to master these techniques. "Okay then, let's try these mediation techniques again. Maybe I have a slight chi problem."

Ryoga smiled as he saw Ranma smile at him. He knew a cat would hear them perfectly clear. Ryoga was glad he had found a way to reach Akane.

Kami-sama knows what would have happened to him if Ranma hadn't helped him.

Dinner had barely begun. Akane was still on a mental trip, trying to reconcile her recent decision to admit that she may have a problem with the idea that she would be stronger for it. Kasumi was still feeling the glow of once again practicing the art, balanced against the feeling of wrongness for allowing Shampoo to cook for her family. Nabiki, being Nabiki, was trying to figure out how the new events would affect her family. Soun and Genma were both acting as though nothing significant had happened. Ryoga and Shampoo were enjoying each other's company. Ranma, being Ranma, was just worried about getting enough food before the next problem arose. More importantly, he was enjoying a final meal with his asshole of a father before Ukyo arrived to help Genma learn from his betrayal.

Truly a normal meal in this part of Japan.

But before the first course had even been served, a knock came to the door.

Ranma's thoughts were conflicted. I had hoped to eat a full meal before Ucchan and I killed the fat bastard. But oh well! Looks like Kasumi'll have to make room in the freezer for panda steaks.

Kasumi left to answer the door, acting as the dutiful daughter she had trained herself to be. Ranma began eating his meal as quickly as possible, his father having long since given up trying to steal food from him under the guise of speed training. After all, a large human/cat hybrid that told you if you so much as looked at his plate, he would slice you and cook your carcass over the fire, would even keep the gluttonous Genma Saotome away from your food.

Ranma had finished his second plate when Kasumi led Ukyo and an older woman into the house. He was first shocked, recalling the faint reflection of his girl form before his old man had knocked him into the Spring of Drowned Cat and reflected on how this woman reminded him of that form.

"Hey Ranchan!"

"Hey Ucchan. Who's the new girl?"

Ukyo looked over to Auntie. "Her names Nodoka, but everyone who knows her calls her Auntie. She's here because your old man betrayed her as well."

A quick punch caught the now pale Genma as he tried to sneak out to change into a panda. "Old man, I hope you ain't trying to run away from your responsibilities. It ain't honorable. And you're always harpin' on me on how important honor is."

Genma was about to yell at his child for not trusting in him, when a sudden downward swipe of a katana made him jump into a corner. "I wouldn't leave if I were you, Genma dear. It would be very unmanly of you to leave when your wife wishes to talk to you."

Everyone, including her companion and Ranma, dropped their mouths allowing their jaws to hit the floor. Even Ranko, who could watch Ranma's life from the dreamscape, couldn't help but drop her jaw to the ground. The old man married another woman after mom died? I guess he really was a jackass. Imagine, abandoning your new wife.

"No…Nodoka, what are you doing here?"

Glad to see her soon-to-be-dead husband about to piss himself, Nodoka could only smile. "I am here because I heard a nasty little tale about not only you selling my son's hand as a husband without my permission, but that you abandoned his fiancée as well as took him to a place where he lost his humanity. Now, dear husband, I do hope Ranma is a man among men, as you promised, or I will surely gut you here where you squirm."

Ranma could only stare at her. This woman had just admitted that she was Ranma's mother, or the very least thought she was. Apparently, she knew of what happened to Ukyo, as well as that Ranma's new form was permanent. It was also learned that his worthless bastard of a father had promised to her that Ranma would be a "man among men," whatever the hell that meant, or Genma would lose his life. And knowing his old man, had promised Ranma would forfeit his own life as well. Not fucking likely. I can't die until Ranko has her own body. And surely not to some woman who thought Genma could raise me well. Mother or not, she lost the right to judge me when she let that bastard raise me.

"Um, ma'am? Could you explain why you have a sword at my best friend's throat?" Never let it be said that Soun Tendo wasn't faithful. We never said he wasn't stupid.

"Of course, let me introduce myself. My name is Nodoka Saotome, and this bastard left me ten years ago, promising to keep in contact and make certain my son was a man among men. He also promised that, if he failed, he and Ranma would commit seppuku. Now, I find out he sold my son's marriage rights multiple times without my permission, and got my son cursed because of his general stupidity. Tell me, sir, how am I supposed to act?"

To say Ranma was surprised was a mild understatement. At first, he had been worried that this woman would kill Genma before he and Ukyo could extract their revenge from him. He had even toyed with the idea of intentionally switching to Ranko and allowing her the pleasure of slowly killing Genma as a belated birthday present to her.

Now he had just learned that not only was this woman his mother, this was the woman who would decide if he lived or died. Though he already made up his mind, he wouldn't allow her to carry such a sentence on him. His old man had proven that their honor was of little value, and he did doubt that his signature on some contract ten years ago was worth anything. He still felt hurt that a person such as his own mother, would accept such a contract. Do they really care for me so little…?

As Ranma rose and slowly made his exit out the door, only Shampoo had noticed and followed him. She saw Ranma walk to the koi pond and look at the fish as they swam. "You know, Shampoo, I always wondered what I'd do if I ever got to see my mother again. I…I just never thought I would have to send her away disappointed in me."

Shampoo shook her head, momentarily forgetting who she was with. "Is okay, Ranma. She no kill you. Shampoo and Airen no let her. Elder Lotion say you too too important, so no can let angry woman hurt you. Too many people need you to let stupid mother hurt you."

Ranma could only smile. Shampoo and Ryoga had become his first real friends in a long time, and he had no doubt they would protect him from this Nodoka—make her understand how much was resting on his shoulders.

He turned, feeling Shampoo reach into her subspace pocket for something, and watched her pull out a scroll. "Elder Lotion give this to Shampoo to give to Ranma. She say you need soon."

Ranma unrolled the scroll, giving the new technique a cursory glance. He had little time to delve into it before he felt a surge of magic. Turning slightly, he saw Sailor Pluto emerge from a portal. "Ranma, the Senshi wish to meet with you to discuss your earlier incident."

Shampoo had produced her bonbori, but Ranma calmly told her that it was okay. "Shampoo, tell them I had to take care of something and left with Sailor Pluto. Maybe you and Ryoga can sort things out before I return."

Shampoo kept staring daggers at the new woman. "Is sure is okay, Ranma?"

Ranma could only smile. "Don't worry, Shampoo. I'll be back before the night is over. But like I said, I have things to do." He brought her into a hug. "Don't worry. I ain't dying now. Not for a long, long time. Too many people are counting on me. Just don't go attacking my mom. I'll decide what we'll do to her, if anything."

Shampoo could only smile as Ranma placed the scroll in his own pocket space, before placing his hand on Sailor Pluto's shoulder. As the two disappeared, Shampoo turned towards the arguing people inside the dining room. This is not going to be an easy day.

So this is what things have come to, this is the path destiny seems to wish. How sad for those harmed by it.

Cologne sat in her carriage, an unexpected cargo plane providing her trip a quicker pace than her large birds would be able to manage. With this unexpected boost to her speed, she would certainly reach Nerima in less than four days. Sooner, if this plane took her to a large airport with jet liners. The quicker she could arrive, the quicker she could begin her training of the boys and her great granddaughter.

If only that old biddy Xo Tion had not decided to keep things hidden from me. It was widely known that the two Elders did not get along well. The two often took opposite sides of any argument brought before the council.

But Xo Tion took special interest in Ranma's case. She took great care in cementing the boy's acceptance into the tribe. She pulled in several favors from other Elders to not only allow the boy to train in Amazon techniques, but to train him in fighting styles not revealed to others, save only her family. Even her grandchild, Mu Tze, was not allowed to learn of those. She sited the fact that the boy had yet to prove himself a man, just a child unable to see the truth; interpretations proven correct with what he did to Xian Pu and Ryoga.

Xo Tion became a second mother to Ranma, more so than Khu Lon had. The Elder had shared pure ki techniques with him, much to the amazement and anger of Khu Lon, who could have used such techniques in training young Amazon warriors. Xo Tion never did give a reason for it, or why she hadn't sent these techniques with Ranma before he left.

In fact, it was from Xo Tion that she received the spell needed to separate Ranma and Ranko.

We could have done this in the village, where we would have been better prepared for whatever could have gone wrong. Why did she wait?

And what is that new technique for? I looked over the scroll before Shampoo and Ryoga left, but its true intent is a mystery.

The Purity Dragon Strike. It was a technique that held applications with the Devil Hunter sects of the Amazons. According to the scroll, a person could use the technique to purify a possessed person, or to eliminate a being of evil. No matter how strong a hold the entity had on a human soul, the attack would wrench it from its host, freeing the human and destroying the entity.

It was a powerful technique, on par with the Bipolar ki attacks, but hidden from the people who could wield it. Why? Why was Xo Tion hiding such things?

And why was she so willingly giving them to Ranma?

All the woman would say was that the Lines of Destiny heavily favored the boy—that he could bend the future to his will, as would Ranko when she emerged into the world. The two would either bring the world incredible peace, or usher it into a new form of hell.

Vague prophecies, which had resulted with tempers spewing out threats from the other Elders. They viewed such words as a reason to kill Ranma, or enslave him into the tribe, both of which Xo Tion fought.

But here she was—the one who originally offered to train Ranma—on her way to see him at her best speed, to deliver Lotion's goods. The mysterious Elder had even given her permission to have Ranma teach Ryoga and Shampoo those techniques, though she admitted that Ryoga had already began to learn the Ki of Heaven and Hell. She doubted Shampoo was far behind, as the couple often trained and competed against each other.

But there was a price: only Ranma could decide who else could learn them—if even Cologne, herself, was permitted to learn them.

Not that she was worried. Ranma did trust her and, if she asked, she was almost certain that she would be allowed to learn the techniques. She had been most impressed with the potential of the Bipolar Cannon. The scrolls had even said that a pure ki user had a nearly unlimited life span, which was easy to believe. If you looked at Lotion, she was nearly 350 years in age, and looked much like she did when Cologne was Shampoo's age. The technique supposedly even had regenerating effects, which means Cologne might regain her appearance from before…Happosai…had broke her heart.

If it was true, who was she to say no?

Besides, if it did work, maybe she would take a shot at the neko-boy. After all, he did look quite nice.

For some reason, the pilots of the cargo plane all got sudden chills up their backs, like they were carrying a plague aboard.

When the pair had arrived, it was of no shock to Ranma to see all of the Senshi transformed, including the Juuban-Kuno. "Okay, I assume you guys want to talk to me about why I attacked Uranus after I defeated that blob monster."

A few nodded yes, but that wasn't what got Ranma's attention. Uranus had turned to the side, blushing somewhat. Sailor Moon was staring at him, as if to issue a challenge, as was Sailor Venus. Sailor Mars looked confused, as if she didn't know what to do, while Sailor Saturn looked like she wanted to yell at Ranma.

Pluto was the first to react, de-transforming into Setsuna Meioh. "Ranma has asked for our trust, I say we return it. He knows me."

The others grudgingly nodded and transformed back before introducing themselves. But certain facial expressions didn't change. "Okay, I know why…Minako was it…is upset with me. But why are the rest of you?"

Usagi stepped up. "Ranma Saotome, in the name of the Moon, I challenge you to an eating contest. After eleven years, I will finally beat you. I already ordered fifty pizzas."

Mamoru got a sick feeling in his gut, slapping his pants pocket to discover his wallet was gone. Truly, it is a crime. Ranma, I shall get you for this! Because of you, my financial situation has seen hell!

"Um…okay. I guess I can, but I've already had dinner. But it was interrupted so I guess I can accept your challenge. But why are the others acting weird?"

Setsuna led him to the TV, currently set up to play the last tape. Ranma watched as he played with Usagi, fought with Haruka—remembering how she had jumped him and claimed their first kiss after delivering a surprising knee to his stomach—Rei's first attempt to see if Ranma liked her, and his last encounter with Minako.

Ranma could only stare. "I assume you won't tell me how you got that footage."

Setsuna smiled. "A woman must have her secrets. But suffice to say, I have access to something that can allow me to view the past. Now, before those girls decide to yell at you for breaking their hearts, why did you attack Haruka?"

Hotaru had been ready to ask Ranma to apologize for hurting Haruka-papa's feelings, but she wanted to know that answer as well.

Ranma took a deep breath before releasing it slowly. "Believe it or not, the one who attacked Haruka and the one who defeated that monster wasn't me. You see, I have two souls inside of me. The one who did all of that was Ranko, the soul of my sister."

The others were struck with confusion. Setsuna's other tape had shown nothing of this, and the Time Guardian was once again cursing herself for apparently missing something.

"You see, the best we can figure, she died young and my body drew her soul into me. When the Jusenkyo waters hit me, they must have woken her up. But if we switch control like what happened today, with me out cold and her needing to take control to save us, it really messes with our minds. We're filled with anger, hatred; we see everything as a simple concept of kill or be killed—finishing things with a cold calculating mind. It's almost like insanity. When I get back in control, I get away from the battle as fast as possible, so as to keep myself from doing similar things."

"Is she normally like that?"

Ranma turned to the Akane-clone of Ami. "Nah, she's really nice. But we can't switch like that without losing control. Hopefully, when we separate, she'll be normal."

"You can separate!" Rei was shocked at what she had heard. Her temple training had taught her that souls of demons could hide in a body, so why not a second human soul. But could Ranma really separate and recreate his sister?

"Yeah. This old ghoul from China, an Amazon Elder named Khu Lon, is coming in a few days to do just that. In fact, I'd prefer if you guys were there to make certain we don't go crazy and start attacking everyone. I'm guessing that the separation might be just as mentally trying as the personality switching."

Before anymore could be said, a ringing doorbell stopped the conversation. Usagi quickly ran to it, screaming about how the games would soon begin. But Hotaru took the time to approach Ranma. "You better not break my Haruka-papa's heart again. She deserves to be treated right."

Ranma could only watch as Haruka went pale. Not from the thought of being with Ranma, but from the embarrassment of what her adopted daughter had just did.

The moon cats, however, just preferred to stay out of sight, lest they be dragged into this insanity.

Sometimes, it was dangerous being around the girls, especially if Usagi was on a feeding frenzy.

Besides, it looked like Mamoru would be asking for more funds to cover the Princess's expenses.

When Shampoo entered back into the dining room, the whole group—aside from her husband—were all yelling at each other. Threats were passed back and forth, with the two other males in the room either crying, cowering, or both. Weak men. How the hell did these women lose to such inept people? They must have used trickery.

She felt a hand on her should and turned to see her beloved smiling at her. She trembled a little, as he moved close to place his mouth near her ear, so that she alone might hear what he had to say. Not taking chances, he switched to Mandarin. "Did you give Ranma the scroll?"

She tried to ignore how his breath in her ear made her feel, knowing her love would prefer they wait for such "activities" until they had a Japanese wedding. "Yes, but a strange woman took him away. She reeked of magic, so I assume she was one of those Senshi he told us about earlier. He also informed me that we should take no action against his mother, until he decides if she will have a place in his new life, let alone that of his sister."

Ryoga backed up, thinking her words over, before returning to her ear. "I agree. However, we should tell them about what is planned for him with Elder Khu Lon. Perhaps his mother may be more forthcoming with the issues surrounding his birth."

Shampoo could only back away, nodding in agreement. Genma had shared few details about Ranma's birth. What they had attained took many hours of interrogation, even with the tribe's most potent potions assisting them. It appeared that he didn't care if Ranma was born with a sister or brother, so long as at least one male was born to carry on his school.

Moving quickly, she gave Ryoga a quick kiss on his lips, hoping that such a show of affection would not send her husband into unconsciousness.

Ryoga, could only smile, glad to have someone like Shampoo with him; glad to have met Ranma Saotome. He had never been happier than he had been these last few months. No directional curse, a beautiful woman who seemed to love him with every bit of her soul, and a mission that kept him filled with enjoyment. Granted, he wasn't the best fighter—the Elders were often too quick and often too happy to prove that. But Elder Cologne had taught him as well as Ranma, and he knew that one day, he would be at their level.

But for now, he had to help his friend.

And these arguments were not helping Ranma. Reaching into his personal sub-space pocket, he grabbed an air-horn: something he typically had to use to attract attention to let people know he was nearby and needed help when he was lost. Though he had barely used it when it had attracted the attention of a bunch of nudists—extremely overweight and friendly nudists.

As the loud noise rang out from it, it was serving another purpose: it was shutting up the irritating people populating this room. "Now, that I have your attention, would you all please be quiet and sit down. It really would be bad for you to not discuss this like civilized people."

The former combatants sat back down. Ukyo, however, noticed the missing member. "Where's Ranchan?"

"He had to go help woman dressed in weird skirt with long pole. Friend Ranma called her Sailor Pluto." Shampoo wasn't going to reveal more then she needed, and she had no idea how many people knew Ranma was helping the Senshi. She made a mental note to ask her great-grandmother if they could train the women. It seemed from what Ranma told her that they had very little in the way of physical combat techniques, relying solely on their magic.

Akane just smiled. "So, Ranma had to go help the Sailor Senshi again."

The rest of the room could only stare at the youngest Tendo. To them, it was unbelievable that the young Neko-human who had arrived only a day ago had made the acquaintance of the local magical heroes of Juuban District.

Nabiki was the first to speak. "Are you serious?"

Akane seemed to smile brightly, glad to be holding information that even her sister hadn't been able to get a hold of. "Yep. He supposedly fought with them last night and defeated a monster for them."

"Anyways," Ryoga interrupted. "We have other matters to talk about besides who Ranma is fighting for or with. Mrs. Saotome, we need to know something that we weren't able to find out from your husband. Did Ranma have a twin sister?"

Nodoka paled, even as the gazes shifted to her. While she was quite certain Genma had forgotten about the whole episode, she hadn't. There hadn't been a day in the last sixteen years she hadn't thought of that day.

But she wasn't quite willing to answer those questions now. "Why…why do you ask?"

Shampoo decided to speak, even if her Japanese was spotty at best. "Elders say friend Ranma has two souls in body. Elders say second soul wake up when hit with Jusenkyo magic. They work hard with friend Ranma; find out second soul is tied with Ranma's. Best Elders can figure, soul must belong to sibling of friend Ranma. Friend Ranma says second soul call itself Ranko. Great-grandmother is coming with spell and potion to separate friend Ranma and friend Ranko into two too too cute cat-people. Shampoo and Airen want make certain that Ranko actually Ranma's sister."

"My…my little girl…will return!" Nodoka's eyes began to water. "She…she died before she could be born, only Ranma survived." Tears were streaming down her face as Ukyo and Kasumi moved to her to embrace her in a hug. "But…but my little girl is alive. She'll be back with me."

Ryoga hated to burst her bubble, to further push this woman into her emotions, opening scars long since forgotten, but no less painful. But he needed this woman to give up on her contract—at least as far as Ranma and Ranko were concerned. He really didn't give a damn if Genma had to die. In fact, it was part of his greatest dreams for a while now. "The Elders don't know what this will do to the Jusenkyo magic. They could both stay permanent cat-people, or gain an uncursed human form. Either way, are you willing to sacrifice the life of one because of a contract that that fat bastard of a husband of yours never knew how to keep?"

The shaking head of Nodoka was the only answer he needed. Ryoga smiled, glad that Ranma now need not fear that his mother wouldn't accept him. She just wants her children back. Who can blame her?

I wonder how long it'll be before Xian Pu starts wanting children. The look his wife gave him sent a chill up his back. Obviously, she would want them soon, no matter whether Ryoga got over his shyness or not.

OMAKE

Setsuna led him to the TV, currently set up to play the last tape. Ranma watched as he played with Usagi, fought with Haruka—remembering how she had jumped him and claimed their first kiss after delivering a surprising knee to his stomach—Rei's first attempt to see if Ranma liked her, and his last encounter with Minako.

Before Ranma could respond, the tape returned from showing static for several seconds, showing a scene not suited for persons under the age of seventeen. "Damn, I didn't know I was that flexible!"

Setsuna jumped to the VCR to remove the tape, while the other Senshi could only stare now. Ami spoke. "Um, Setsuna. Who was that with Ranma?"

Michiru smiled, finding it funny to be able to tease the Senshi of Time for a mistake like what had occurred. "Yes, you do seem quite embarrassed. Was that you?"

Hotaru nearly choked on her breath. "Setsuna-mama, how could you steal Haruka-papa's boyfriend?"

"HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!"

"THAT WASN'T ME ON THAT TAPE!"

"Please tell me it wasn't Usako?"

Setsuna turned towards the Prince of Earth. "No, it wasn't your wife."

"Okay, I'll bite." Rei turned towards the blushing Senshi. "Who was it doing…that…with Ranma?"

A bright flash behind them drew their attention, revealing a now older Chibi-Usa.

Who was currently sporting a large, pregnant belly.

"OH…"

"MY…"

"GOD!"

Chibi-Usa turned towards the neko-boy. "Ranma Saotome, this is all your fault!"

The group turned towards Ranma, who sat completely still, before his eyes rolled up back into his head and he passed out.

Setsuna turned towards the new arrival. "You came back too far, Little Lady. He hasn't met you yet."

"WAH! I'M A GRANDMOTHER!"

"YOU BASTARD, HOW DARE YOU SPOIL MY LITTLE GIRL!"

Makato and Minako were taking turns removing large handfuls of popcorn from a bowl they pulled out of nowhere. "Wow, this is the best soap opera ever."

Minako smiled. "Yeah. Now all we need is Ranma's evil twin brother to appear and kill the man who ruined his family's standing."

If I messed anything up, then let me know including typos.

Any suggestions on how I should continue the story or improve it would also be accepted.

Also, if you have any suggestions for how this should go, let me know. My own imagination, while vast, always enjoys a new thought. Also, catch me if you don't think I am making the characters true to form, or a way to make them better.